Greed
by Tifa Gainsborough
Summary: Cloud makes a wish he will soon regret. This is a death fic. PG-13 or R. I couldn't decide so chose to play it safe. Please review.


Here he was again, standing in the same spot as always. For nearly three months he had been coming here. Three months since Sephiroth's defeat, three months since meteor was stopped in it's path, three months since her death. Aerith, why did you have to die? It just wasn't fair. 

"Why did you have to take her from me," Cloud yelled into the darkness.

"Because fate is cruel," a voice answered. He spun around, his Ultima Sword drawn ready for anything. What he saw was not what he had expected. It was a woman her body was levitating, her toes barely brushed the ground. Her outline was solid but light glowed through her translucent body. 

"Are you an angel?" The woman threw back her head and laughed. He cringed, her laugh was like the sound of rocks scraping together. 

"Far from it." He stared at her his weapon still drawn still awaiting some attack.

"I'm here to make you a proposition." 

He lowered his sword slightly still wary of the floating figure. "What kind?" 

A tiny smile touched her lips, it wasn't lovely it made her look like a caged animal ready to attack. 

"The best kind." 

She floated closer to him and it took all his self-control to not back away. 

"Who is she?" 

"Aerith. But she's dead," he snapped. 

"I can give you back your Aerith," she said with that same smile. Those simple words could change Cloud's life forever. 

"How?" 

"Are you familiar with the term a life for a life?" 

He nodded, an equal trade, but how did it apply? 

"I give you back your friend. But in return one of your present friends will have to leave." 

It was so simple Cloud's mind screamed. He had so many friends he could survive with one being gone. 

"I'll do anything!" he exclaimed. 

"The question isn't what you'll do. It's what you will give," she explained. 

"Will she have her old memory?" That was all that mattered to him, that she remembered him. 

"Of course she will." 

He smiled finally he would be able to tell her everything he was feeling. 

"Are you willing to give anything?" 

He put his sword back in its place and nodded. "I will give anything to have her back." 

A smile overtook the woman's face, but something glittering in her eyes wasn't joy. "So be it. Go home Cloud Strife and tonight you shall have your friend back." He ran from the room heading for home as fast as his Chocobo would carry him. It wasn't until he was half way home that he realized he had seen eyes like hers before. They were the same color as Sephiroth's. 

He pushed the door open and was instantly overtaken by the smell of cooking. All his friends, even the ever-elusive Vincent, were sitting around the table having dinner. 

"Cloud you made it just in time for dinner," Tifa said pointing to the empty chair to her right. He was too anxious to eat and decided to pass on dinner. 

"That's ok I'm not hungry." He paced around the living room waiting for the sun to fall. He could hear the sound of dishes being washed in the kitchen. 

"What's making you so damn jumpy spiky," Barrett asked. 

"Nothing," Cloud said watching the sun slip into the night. From the kitchen there was the sound of dishes breaking and Marlene's high-pitched shrieks. 

"It's Aerith," he almost screamed out loud. How wrong he would have been. He pushed through the group anxious to see her again. The closer he got to the kitchen the louder Marlene's screams got. He reached the kitchen and froze from the vision laid out before his eyes. Tifa lay in a heap on the floor, a broken dish lay near her feet. 

"She fell," Marlene screamed in hysterics. 

Cloud dropped to his knees next to Tifa's limp form. "Tifa," he whispered cradling her head in his lap. Her eyes were closed, she looked like she was sleeping. But her chest refused to rise and her skin was slowly growing cold. "Tifa," he pleaded. "Open you eyes." 

"A life for a life," he heard someone whisper. 

His head shot up searching wildly for the voice. "Oh %$*#!" Cid exclaimed his cigarette dropping from his mouth.

"I don't believe it," Yuffie muttered softly. He looked over to see Aerith Gainsborough standing quietly in the doorway.

"What is going on," Barrett demanded to know. 

They all sat in the living room, all eyes were focused on Cloud. Aerith sat in the corner her knees drawn to her chest, she was quietly sobbing.

"Why Cloud," Vincent started softly. "Is Tifa dead and Aerith alive?" 

"I don't know. All she said was a life for a life." 

"Right now we must deal with this problem," Vincent said gesturing towards Aerith. "Before dealing with the other issues." 

All his friends had turned on him. They turned questioning eyes to Aerith then back to Cloud. 

"Where am?" Came Aerith's soft voice. 

"You are in Kalm," Cloud told her. 

Yuffie, who was sitting next to her, gently reached out to touch her shoulder. Aerith scooted away with a tiny shriek. "Don't touch me!" 

"What's wrong with Aerith," Cid asked. 

"I want to go home," she cried. For the life of him Cloud could not figure out what was wrong with her. 

"You are home." She looked over to him her eyes glassy with unshed tears. 

"No," she moaned. All he could do was stare, something was wrong with her and he had a sinking suspicion it was his entire fault. 

Two days ago he had laid Tifa Lockhart to rest. Four days ago Aerith Gainsborough had defied destiny. But as he watched her pick flowers he knew something was wrong. She was so isolated and when she did talk it was mostly nonsense. Vincent believed that somewhere between life and death she had left her sanity behind. 

"Aerith," he called walking towards her. She turned to him with a slight giggle. "There's fennel for you and columbines," she told him shoving flowers into his hands. The flowers were wilted and dieing. 

"Aerith," he said her name with sadness. 

"And will he not come again? And will he not come again?" She sang with a glee. 

"Sephiroth," he asked wondering whom she was referring to. 

"No, no, he is dead. Go to thy deathbed. He will never come again." He couldn't take it anymore. He turned on his heels and walked away. Aerith's haunting laughter followed his retreat.

He lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. She had been back for four days and he had been unable to have a normal conversation with her. 

"Why," he whispered to the empty room. 

His body was telling him to sleep but his mind was too restless. There came a crashing sound from the kitchen. He jumped from his bed his adrenaline screaming in his veins. He pushed his door open and headed swiftly towards the direction of the crashing noise. He flicked a switch and harsh yellow light flooded the room. 

"No," he gasped. Aerith lay on the floor, Cid's Venus Gospel protruding from her chest. A pool of blood was slowly gaining width around her body. 

"What the @#*$ is going…" Cid trailed off as his eyes slowly focused on the gruesome scene. "You," Cid growled turning towards Cloud. Anger and uncontrollable rage filled the pilots eyes. "This is all your damn fault!" He drew his fist back socking Cloud in the jaw. Cloud's head jerked to one side blood slowly trickling down his chin from a split lip. 

"If you hadn't been so damn selfish Tifa would still be alive! And Aerith wouldn't have had to go through the pain of dying again!" Cid turned away unable to hide the tears any longer. Cloud gave Aerith's blood stained body one last look then bolted from the house.

"You tricked me," he stormed at the shadowy figure. 

Emerald eyes, Sephiroth's eyes, turned to look at him laughing silently. He looked away, unable to look at the figure any longer. Long brown hair the exact mirror of Tifa's draped down her back, Aerith's familiar pink dress hung on her body limply. 

"What are you," he demanded to know threatening her with his Ultima Weapon. 

"I am what the Cetra feared most. Greed." 

"I don't understand." 

"I have many forms, each one unique to that person's greed. You wanted Aerith back so much, but did you know why?" Cloud's body shook with rage, but his rage was slowly subsiding, becoming something more terrible, guilt. "You are greedy Cloud Strife. Now live with the consequences of your greed." 

Cloud was alone once again, tears of guilt streamed down his face. "I failed. But I won't let my greed win. I WON'T!" Cloud Strife threw his body on the blade of his Ultima Weapon and finally beat his greed.

Author's Note: Whoa…that was a weird one, now wasn't it. I wrote this over five different days, during my math class. So if it was sorta weird… that's why. Why did greed look like Aerith and Tifa…got me, just sounded like something cool. Like it, hate it, you decide. I don't really know what to think of it. I don't read a lot of Aerith resurrection fics, but if she came back I don't think she would be straight in the head. Her lines about flowers and death come from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare. Nobody can write insanity like the master. I borrowed them, please don't sue me, I liked them and I'm giving credit so there. Normal FFVII disclaimers apply. Please review. I want to know what everybody thinks.


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